Sheffield United vs Tottenham Hotspur

44 UTB
Blades Tales
Former Sheffield Morning Telegraph
reporter JONATHAN LANG takes
a look back on previous encounters
between United and Spurs, whilst also
enlightens UTB with his personal past
experiences of covering both teams...
ABOUT JONATHAN
Now 76, I spent
four decades as a
sportswriter for
four papers and became a
lifelong pal of the late
‘Motty’, who was also
ex-Sheffield Morning
Telegraph.
I’ve spent 60 years a
Bee, as a fan of hometown
club Barnet FC and half that
as a Blade. My grandson
Arturo and granddaughter
Sandia (who plays for
SUFC’s Community
U12s) are now the next
generation of Blades.
For now, I share most of
my attendance at matches
between Barnet, Blades
and nearby Sheffield
FC (going back to Dave
McCarthy’s days).
Needless to say, though,
I was in the Kop for the
Premier League debut
match when Brian Deane
wrote his name into the
history books with the very
first in the competition for
United against Manchester
United.
BLADES vs SPURS
– AN FA CUP
BACKGROUND
This night match at
Bramall Lane will be the
fifth FA Cup tie between
the two clubs and the 95th
in all competitions with
29 wins, 27 draws and 38
defeats for United.
The first was the FA
Cup final of 1900-01, a 2-2
draw between the two
clubs in front of an officially
reported crowd of 110,820
(one source said 114,815)
at Crystal Palace on April
20th 1901. Fred Priest put
Blades ahead (11mins),
Sandy Brown 1-1 (23mins),
Brown 2-1 (50mins) and
Walter Bennett 2-2 (51mins).
The replay a week later at
Bolton Wanderers’ Burnden
Park saw a crowd of
20,470. Priest again scored
first for Blades (40min)
John Cameron 1-1 (52min),
Tom Smith 2-1 (76 min) and
Brown 3-1 (87 min).
This victory made Spurs,
then in the Southern
League, the only nonleague
club to win the
FA Cup.
It was the first of their
eight triumphs (Blades
have four) and launched
the London club’s rightfully
famous claim if there is a
one in the year Spurs win
the FA Cup (1921, 1961, 1981,
1991). And they are one of
three clubs to retain it.
A year after Tottenham’s
historic first United
lifted the trophy (for a
second time) on their
return to Crystal Palace
when they beat another
Southern League club –
Southampton – in 1902.
SHEFFIELD UNITED vs TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR